


Liar, Liar

by PerriewinkleNerdie



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:28:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26198620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie
Summary: Not all lies are harmful.
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Kudos: 22





	Liar, Liar

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello, hello! How's life? It's two days till school starts and a little over a month till uni starts back up, so you can feel the desperation in the air. This fic took me like, two weeks to finish, because we love being lazy and would rather sleep than write (so, like, most of the times as of late for me, what you gonna do, right?), but it's here now. I did proof read, but it's possible that something slipped my attention, sorry if there are any mistakes :D  
> Enjoy! <3

He knew that he shouldn’t feel like an idiot; that didn’t mean that he didn’t. Standing in front of the hospital, tapping his foot impatiently and checking his watch every five seconds, like it would speed up time. He was never a patient man, and every minute of delay got on his nerves, making him even more anxious than he was in the first place.

If he could have it his way, he wouldn’t even be going in the first place. Claire, however, decided that ‘no way in hell is he declining his Father’s invitation again’, so he didn’t really have a choice.

_“When did this happen?” he asked her, right after she convinced him, both of them sitting on the couch, watching some TV show. She turned her head towards him, wrinkles forming on her forehead in confusion._

_“When did what happen?”_

_Running his hand up and down her arm, he shrugged before answering. “It’s hard for me to say ‘no’ to you.”_

_“I mean, you can.” An innocent smile grew on her features. She gripped his shoulders, straddling him before he could decipher her intentions, then leaned in, making their noses touch. “But do you really want to, now?”_

_“No.” he answered, causing them both to laugh. Her lips brushed against his, once, twice; she then tried to back away, but found herself unable to do so, with his arms wrapped tightly around her, keeping her in place. “No.”_

_“There you go.”_

The sound of a car horn going off drew him out from the memory, back into the parking lot, where a car stopped right in front of him. The window rolled down, revealing a very smug blonde. She leaned towards him, sliding her sunglasses down her nose slightly.

“Get in loser, we’re going shopping.”

His gaze narrowed as he walked closer, leaving his work bag in the back of the car before going to sit in the passenger’s seat. Claire was still looking at him, her eyes sparkling flirtatiously. He sighed deeply, fastening his seatbelt.

“I may get the reference after you made me watch the movie, and we may be dating, but I’m still your boss, Dr. Herondale.” He reminded, his tone stern.

“Nope.” Her voice was strained as she leaned over the console, trying to close the compartment in front of him. “For the next three days, you’re only my boyfriend.” Breathing out in relief when she successfully finished her task, she straightened herself. “No work, no bosses, just you, and me, okay?”

The workaholic in him hesitated. Three days without any sort of work-related activities wouldn’t be something he came up with, but the rational side of him knew, that she was right. They’ve been working nonstop for the past few weeks, cases more demanding that they expected. He’s told her many times to take a break, and she would always refuse, saying that she will rest when he will; he couldn’t argue with that logic, nor with her when she eventually would decide for both of them that it’s late and pull him out of his office to go home.

“Okay.” He nodded, smiling at how wide her grin was. She extended her hand towards him, waggling her fingers. He took her hand, which made a blush appear on her cheeks, accompanied by a gentle laugh.

“While I love holding your hand, that wasn’t what I meant.” She cleared her throat, schooling her features into a scowl. “Your phone, Ramsey.”

Ethan’s eyebrow went up, clearly thinking she was joking, but a second later he realized that she absolutely wasn’t. “And just why would I do that?”

She sighed heavily, reaching with her other hand towards his pant pocket, fishing out the device. “Because I know you. You’ll get bored at one point or the other and will start reading medical articles just to do something.” He began to protest, which she quickly stifled with a short kiss, rendering him speechless. “You know I’m right. And besides, I’ll be there to entertain you in case you have too much time and start to think about working.”

“I’ll hold you to it.” he gave her hand a squeeze, noticing something shimmery around her wrist. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was an elaborate bracelet, many gemstones hanging from a golden chain. She caught him staring, rushing to explain.

“It’s my lucky charm bracelet.” Shaking her hand, she let it catch the last rays of the sun before it disappeared behind the clouds, sparkling with dimming light.

“How many lucky charms does one person need?” he snickered, catching a sapphire stone between his fingers.

“When you’re me? All of them.”

And with that, they were on their way. The ride wasn’t long, and yet, Claire insisted that he took a nap to rest, reaching for the pillow she had stored for him behind her seat. He had a night shift and didn’t get the chance to grab a cup of coffee in the morning, so he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand and fell asleep.

When he woke up, they were about halfway there. Somewhere during his rest, she covered him with a blanket as it got colder outside. He pulled the seat back into the upright position and took a look outside the window.

“How long was I asleep?” he asked, suppressing a yawn. Claire adjusted her hold on the steering wheel before glancing at him.

“Judging by the redness of your eyes, not long enough.” she pointed out, smiling when he scoffed at her remark. “Thirty minutes, more or less.”

His hand wandered towards her, resting comfortably on her thigh, running up and down in a soothing manner. The corners of her lips went up, her eyes trained on the road. The sound of the rain that started to trickle outside combined with the quiet comfort on the inside created a perfect concoction, causing his eyes to drop again a bit. He noticed that it was affecting Claire too, blinking twice as often as she normally did.

“Do you want me to take over?” he murmured, watching her closely. She shook her head, her knuckles getting a bit whiter from the force with which she was holding the wheel.

“I’m okay; it’s you who didn’t sleep last night, so use that time to rest. If you’re hungry or thirsty, there’s food and water in the bag on the backseat.”

“You really thought of everything, didn’t you?” he leaned forward, pressing his lips to her shoulder. Her scent filled his senses, blocking out everything, making her, once again, his one and only focus. “Please tell me the second you’re too tired to drive.”

“Yes, Doctor.” She teased him, touching her head to his when they were waiting for the light to turn green. It was at that moment that the sound of a ringing phone pierced the otherwise silent atmosphere of the car. Ethan pleaded with his eyes, recognizing his ringtone, trying to convince her to give him his phone back, but she shook her head, already answering the call.

“Hello, Mr. Ramsey!” Claire greeted his father, her voice bright and easy. Alan said something that Ethan couldn’t quite decipher, but it clearly must have been funny if it made her laugh to the point of tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. It also was most likely about him, because as soon as she sneaked a peak at him, she giggled louder. “No, Ethan cannot pick up his phone, he’s on vacation from work. Can I pass a message?” Some more incoherent words that Ethan had no way of understanding, and the call was over, his phone returning to the compartment near her. “He asked me to tell you that you should listen to me and relax.” She said, choosing to ignore with a smirk the way he shook his head at her. 

Before they both knew it, they reached Alan’s house. The sky has cleared, revealing the sun, shining above their heads as it began to aim itself towards the horizon again. They were getting their bags out of the trunk when an excited voice called out for them.

“You two are just in time for dinner!” The older man stood next to them, hugging his son tightly before greeting Claire and taking the bag out of her hands. He nodded towards the house, inviting them inside.

As soon as they stepped over the threshold, they were hit with the scent of food, making their mouth water. Alan expected them to be there soon, so he was prepared, with wine glasses sitting on the counter, food resting in the oven and a bottle of Bordeaux waiting to be opened. Having left the bags in the guest room, they made their way to the kitchen, all three of them working in complete comfort around each other, preparing the table and carrying food to the dining room. Like they’ve known each other forever; like they were a family for a long time and have done it a dozen of times.

Ethan wasn’t kidding when he once told her that his father was an amazing cook. She couldn’t tell which one of the two cooked better, as both knew their way around the kitchen and both excelled in different kinds of cuisine, having the common ground in desserts, especially (surprising no one) chocolate.

The evening was in full swing, the table cleared of plates, cutlery, and empty dishes, leaving only glasses of wine. Claire was sitting closely to Ethan, her palm sitting on his shoulder, his hand resting comfortably on her thigh. At the current moment, the couple was looking at one another, bickering playfully about who was the last one to do the laundry. To Alan, they looked like a married couple, with how comfortable they were with one another and the topics of their discussions. Neither could remember and neither would back down, being a pair of stubborn people, so they decided to agree that it’s a tie, hooking their pinkies and shaking on it. Immediately after, Ethan pulled her by her finger onto him, pressing a soft kiss to her nose.

“So, was it love at first sight?” Alan asked, laughing at their antics. They both fell silent, turning towards him with blank expressions. Claire was the first one to break out of it, leaning back into her chair with a mix of a giggle and a scoff.

“Whoever told you that is a filthy liar.”

Ethan didn’t even try to deny it, mirroring her position in his seat as his head turned towards her, smirking. “She was a pain in the ass before she was anything else.”

“Are you saying that I’m not anymore?”

“Oh no, you still are, but it’s so much more now.” his voice dropped back to the gentle whisper with every word he said, unable to stop the smile from pulling the corners of his lips upwards. Claire used the moment of his helplessness, grabbing him by his chin and making their eyes meet.

“You were an asshole for the majority of time at the beginning.” She hummed, letting him go, smirking at the way his expressions morphed from stunned to agreement. “Similarly, though, you’re not that bad now. It changed.”

“Most likely in Miami.” Alan noted, not thinking too much about it, unaware just how significant of a response his words would get. Claire, who was at the time taking a sip of her wine, choked on it, coughing excessively. Ethan, on the other hand, froze in place, unsure how to approach the situation. She didn’t even have to ask for him to know that she wanted some kind of an explanation.

“I, uh, may have slipped up while talking to Dad a couple of months ago.” A blush creeped up his neck, accompanied by an endearing smile. Claire pressed her palm to his cheek, turning him towards her.

“Aww, don’t be embarrassed! If it made you feel better about our very complicated situation, then I’m glad you had someone to talk to.” she beamed warmly, kissing his cheek softly, sweetly, tracing the line of his cheekbone with her thumb.

“To be fair, I did ask a lot of questions.” The older man confessed, pulling the attention of the pair back to him. “He seemed stressed, like a walking time bomb, so when I asked what made him this-“ he paused, spreading his arms to indicate the state in which his son seemed to be at the time. “- he started talking, and since he _never_ talks, I tried to help him work it out.”

Claire nodded, running her fingers through Ethan’s hair, her hand resting comfortably on the back of his chair. “He does have a tendency to keep everything on the inside. I make him talk too.” She dropped her voice to a whisper, grinning widely as she spoke directly to Alan. “He hates me for it.”

“I don’t hate you, I just- I-“ Ethan jumped to his defense, struggling to word his thoughts. He gave up when he saw very clear amusement on both of their faces. “I can’t with you two.”

The night soon ended, as did the wine in the bottle. Claire jumped up, declaring that she’s going to finish up the cleaning in the kitchen, while the two of them should go get ready for sleep. Alan tried to protest, but she pulled the ‘you-cooked-I-clean’ card, so he didn’t have the needs to fight this logic.

She was in the middle of cleaning the pan when she felt the softest touch on her shoulders. Goosebumps rose on her neck, induced by the hot breath that brushed against her skin. “You know you can leave it for the morning?”

“Ethan Ramsey, are you telling me to ditch my responsibilities?” she mused, scrubbing the bottom of the dish while trying to ignore the patterns he was tracing with his fingers. He trailed his hands down her sides, wrapping his arms around her middle and pulling her to him.

“I am. You deserve a break too.” He began pressing openmouthed kisses along the line of her back. He sighed when she didn’t make a move to stop what she was doing. “At least let me help you.”

He walked over to stand by her side, towel in hand, drying the cleaned dishes and putting them away. Her hair shielded her face, making it impossibly hard to notice the subtle change in her expression. He caught it a second too late, losing the chance to protect himself from the incoming attack. A wave of water and bubbles crashed into him, soaking his clothes and hair, accompanied by her hysteric giggle.

Slowly turning to her, he looked between the sink, still plenty of water there, and her, predicting she was going to make an attempt to dodge his retaliation. His shot was perfectly timed and aimed, bringing her to the same level. A complete chaos fell over the kitchen, nothing was safe, and nothing was spared.

Truce was forced upon him when she grabbed him by the sides of his face and hauled him onto her, crashing their lips together in a heated kiss. A low hum reverberated in his chest as his eyes fell shut, enhancing his other senses. How enchanting her scent was, reminding him of early mornings when he would bury his face in her hair. How her body fit into his arms like she was made to be in them, like two puzzle pieces, creating the same picture together.

Claire’s fingers were tangled in his hair in a matter of seconds, keeping him as close as physics allowed. The counter was digging into her lower back, the sensation being the only thing grounding her in reality. Everything else was overshadowed by Ethan. The smell of his cologne was intoxicating. The movement of his lips against hers took her all the way back to Miami, where they kissed like it was worth going to hell for, like they were starved, like they were the salvation for one another.

His hands gripped the fabric of her shirt harshly, exposing the skin of her back, extracting droplets of water from the material. They’ve been this close more times than he could count, but the sensation always felt like brand new, like it was their first time, getting to know each other all over again. He trailed his lips down towards her throat, focusing on the dip by the collarbone, eliciting the boldest sigh she dared to let slip out.

Claire didn’t stay indebted for long, scratching his scalp with her nails, drawing a deep groan out of him, his body betraying him in his attempt to keep his desire for her on the low. She couldn’t see the smirk that resided on his face through her eyelids, but she knew damn well that it was there. He’s always been smug at how much he affected her, how much her body told him without words.

“We should keep quiet.” He muttered, failing to suppress the desperate moan at the feel of her pushing him onto her with her leg around his calf. She giggled softly, pulling their faces to the same level.

“Then why are you so loud?” her words were one last warning before their lips crashed again, their hands rushing to touch every square inch of each other’s bodies as thoroughly as they could. He picked her up without missing a beat, leaving the flooded kitchen far behind them.

\--------------

The first thing he felt that morning was the featherlight kisses, tracing the line between his shoulder blades. Hot breath caused goosebumps to pepper his skin, slowly bringing him to consciousness.

“Good morning.” Claire’s whisper reached him from right below his ear, her voice provoking a shiver to run down his spine. Without opening his eyes, he leaned upwards, curled his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, pressing her into the mattress with his weight. His head rested in the crook of her neck, his lips touching her anywhere they could reach.

“It’s not morning until we get out of bed.” He growled lowly, his kisses gaining intensity. Their bodies were covered by thin blankets; the only thing shielding them from the biting coolness of the early hours of the day. Clothes were lost few hours prior in the heat of the moment, both of them giggling like a pair of teenagers sneaking around, shushing one another every so often and silencing with urgent kisses.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how the definition of ‘morning’ goes, but… I won’t go anywhere if you won’t.” Claire nuzzled her nose against his hair, taking a deep breath, the scent of his shampoo surrounding her briefly. She was moments away from falling asleep again, when she sensed him changing the position slightly, his lips moving upwards. He stopped a breath away from her, waiting for her move, which at first seemed like it would never come. His eyes opened slowly, finding hers already watching him, crinkling playfully. She raised her hand, running her fingers through his hair.

“Like this, you’re even more handsome.” She whispered, making Ethan’s eyebrow shot up in amusement.

“Like what?”

“Relaxed. Peaceful. All mine.” she tugged on his ear teasingly, watching him nod slightly in confirmation, a hint of red creeping onto his cheeks. “Even though that’s not the hottest I’ve seen you.”

Adjusting his grip on her, he asked, more intrigued than ever. “Oh really? Then what state of Ethan Ramsey does Clarissa Herondale find the most attractive?”

She leaned closer to him, her lips brushing his when she spoke. “When you’re displaying your intelligence. When you’re diagnosing, showing off how insanely smart you are. _You’re irresistible._ ”

Ethan pressed their lips together the second she finished her sentence, winding his arms tighter around her. Climbing on top of her completely, he caged her between his limbs, allowing him to look at her from a different angle when their kiss eventually broke.

“I’ll have you know, that my view on when you’re ‘hot’ is very similar.”

As cliché as that sounded, their moment was cut short by three gentle knocks on his childhood bedroom door, making them both freeze in place. They scrambled to sit up and reach their clothes, pulling them on hastily when Alan called out from the corridor.

“Son, I wouldn’t want to walk in on something that would make us all uncomfortable, so if you two could meet me downstairs soon, I’d be grateful.”

Ethan’s face was white, horror seeping onto it with alarming rate. Claire, on the other hand, was biting her lip as hard as she could, trying all she could to stop herself from laughing out loud. She nudged him, leaving the bed, getting dressed as she went. Noticing that he didn’t make a move to get up, she collected his clothes for him, smirking at how red his cheeks were.

“I’ve never been in a situation like this in my whole life.”

“Well, there’s always time for a first.”

Not even five minutes later, they stepped into the living room, Alan already waiting for them by the entrance to the kitchen. Claire waved at him, overcoming the embarrassment momentarily. “Good morning, Mr. Ramsey!”

“Good morning, Claire. Before we begin eating, I have a question for you two. When I went to bed last night, what did you two do?”

Blonde woman turned to look at her boyfriend, noticing how pale he was, frozen in place yet again. Knowing that she would have to be the one to do the talking, she tried to figure out what she was supposed to say, when Alan, clearly realizing what the two of them thought he was asking, rushed to elaborate.

“Ethan, please breathe, you’re going to suffocate. I meant, what happened to my kitchen?” he nodded towards the room with his head, both doctors leaning forward to look inside.

The floor and cabinets were flooded with water. They looked at each other, then towards Alan, pointing fingers at one another, shrugging their shoulders, refusing to take the blame. The older Ramsey man sighed, shaking his head at their antics, inviting them to the table for breakfast.

“You two, liars, are never doing dishes together again.”


End file.
